


starting point

by interstellarbeams



Series: starting point [1]
Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, First Dates, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff, Surprises, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 13:38:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interstellarbeams/pseuds/interstellarbeams
Summary: Wyatt takes Lucy on their first date, little does she know it’s the beginning of many firsts to come.





	starting point

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank Gretchen and Lizzie for all their help once again. Love y’all! 
> 
> This is supposed to tie into one of my Valentine’s Day fics so I wanted to go ahead and put it out into the fanfic universe. Enjoy the fluff! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated! <3

The night sky was clear and lit by stars. Orion hung over their heads like a protective deity, stretching as far as the eye could see. The slamming of the car door brought Lucy out of her musings and she turned to glance at Wyatt as he came around the back of the car.

“What are you looking at?” Wyatt asked as he tucked something into his denim jacket pocket, almost too casually. 

“I’m looking at Betelgeuse and the rest of the stars that make up Orion. Being cooped up in that bunker for so long, it’s nice to be able to see the night sky again. It’s beautiful.”

“It is.” Wyatt agreed, as he came to stand next to her, his hands shoved into his pockets. 

They stood silently looking up at the sky, for a moment, in companionable silence their breath frosting the air in front of them before Wyatt pressed an insistent hand to Lucy’s back.

“Ready? I like looking at the stars as much as the next guy but I think we better get going before the fun park closes and our first date has to be put off _again_.” 

Lucy laughed but allowed him to lead her towards the entrance, the sign lit up brightly in the dark night and the overhead lightposts blocking out her view of the stars. 

Lucy was grateful to be out of the cold but she wasn’t thrilled to be inside such a busy, crowded area especially after their recent move from the bunker. She craved open spaces and solitary moments but Wyatt had pleaded with her and begged her so that she had finally caved and agreed to come out with him.

They came to stand in front of the cashier’s booth, a line forming behind them as they waited, the carpet under their feet splattered with bright splotches of color like the floor of a painter’s studio. 

Wyatt paid for their round of mini golf and they tested out the putters to see which one fit before picking their golf balls out of the basket on the counter top. Wyatt handed the balls over to her and she stuck them in her large coat pockets.

“Why do you insist on calling this a first date?” Lucy asked, as they left the cashier's booth and Wyatt tucked his wallet into his back pocket.

“Because it is.” 

Lucy tucked her hand into the crook of Wyatt’s elbow, shaking her head at his stubbornness. Children dashed around them as they walked towards the doors that led outside, parents chasing after them wearing glow stick necklaces that blazed in the dimness of the room.

“Plus, I wouldn’t call our trips,” Wyatt bent his head closer, his breath stirring her hair against her cheek, “to the past, _dates_. Flynn on our heels and Rittenhouse lurking around every corner… and Rufus always interrupting.”

“There’s no need to whisper,” Lucy added, the loudness of children screaming, the beeping, binging and the bright flashing lights of the arcade games leaving her slightly stunned after the quiet of the winter's night outside the arcade doors.

“Force of habit,” Wyatt shrugged his shoulders, a smile popping a dimple out in his cheek. He opened the door for her before following her through, the brisk air immediately attacking the exposed skin of her face and hands. 

“Oh, I see,” Lucy smirked at him, laughing when he jerked his arm where hers rested, her arm colliding with his.

“You know you love it,” Wyatt murmured, his scruff scraping against her cheek as he leaned into her, one arm going around her waist.

“Master Sergeant, I think you might want to save that for later,” Lucy murmured back, pointing her chin towards the preteen girl’s who walked by, giggling behind their hands.

“You think I care about what a couple of twelve year olds think?” 

“No, I really don’t, but I thought you wanted to play before they close down. It’s already nine o’clock,” Lucy glanced down at her watch, a mischievous smile stretching her lips as he admitted she was right by letting her go and stepping up to the first hole. 

The green curved around landscaping lit by mood lighting and the soothing soundtrack of nature and water features that was only occasionally split by loud laughter and sounds of excitement giving Lucy a little of the calming effect she had experienced earlier star-gazing.

Lucy stepped to the edge of the “green” watching Wyatt as he seriously gauged the distance between the starting point and the hole that he wanted to sink his golf ball into.

“ _Oh_ , here,” Lucy offered Wyatt one of the balls from her coat pocket. Seeing the bright pink he raised an eyebrow at her but he took it and set it down where the tee would be if they were golfing for real. 

He hit the ball and it quickly rolled down the sloped green and hit the back of the bricked off area, racing right back past the hole and landing a few inches away.

“Am I keeping score?” Lucy asked, biting her lip, “Because I didn’t grab one of those score cards or the little pencil.”

“No need to keep score. We’re just having fun, right? On our first date,” Wyatt winked at her before sinking his ball into the hole. 

Lucy rolled her eyes at his continued use of the words “first date” and set her golf ball down. She concentrated, her hands on the putter as she hit the ball lightly, almost too lightly she was afraid but it went over the hump running through the green and right into the hole.

“I did it!” Lucy yelled, surprising herself with her own enthusiasm as she walked down to grab her ball.

“Great job! And you didn’t want to come,” Wyatt teased as he wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked to the next hole. 

The second hole, marked so with a little sign, was occupied by a family with two children and Lucy smiled as she watched them hit the golf balls with their little plastic putters. Wyatt shifted next to her, almost anxiously and she gave him an odd look out of the corner of her eye. _Why was he acting so antsy? Children would of course take more time to play._

When the next person took their spot on the green, Wyatt twirled his putter between two hands, the rubber head scrubbing against the cement walkway beneath them with a grating sound.

Finally the last family member had picked their ball out of the hole farther down the course and Wyatt took his spot. 

“Since you’re so insistent on this being our first date, do I have to act awkward around you? Should I bite my lip and worry about whether I’m saying the wrong thing or being too _on_?”

“You never say the wrong thing.” Wyatt turned his head to glance over his shoulder at her, “I’m the one always sticking my foot in my mouth.” 

“Oh, I don’t know. That first meeting with Kate, when we went to the Hindenburg, you were pretty charming, although I can’t believe you called me your _older_ sister, that was sort of rude. Your charm soured pretty quickly when she thought there was something stalker-ish about you after you tried to pull her from the field.”

“Hey, that was our first mission and I didn’t know you yet. I had just met this professor who was a stickler for the rules and who acted like a know-it-all. Kate was more familiar, hanging out in a local bar with the guys, like the women I was used to. I guess that’s why I kind of latched onto her.”

“Then your protective side came out when you heard that she was going to die and you tried to save her. That was honorable Wyatt even if it was reckless. You risked your own life for hers. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

“A long distance relationship wouldn’t have worked anyways, plus there’s this other woman who was much closer figuratively and geographically,” Wyatt winked as he rested his putter against his shoulder like a parading soldier.

“Another woman, oh? What is she like?” Lucy teased back, not really expecting him to reply as she set up her shot.

“She’s pretty wonderful. Beautiful, smart, able to remember facts better than anyone else I know and she’s always kind, even towards people that others would say aren’t worth it.” Wyatt’s gaze was steady on her and Lucy suddenly felt embarrassed, sure that her cheeks would be blazing if not for the cold air that had already flushed them.

Lucy hit her ball, barely even paying attention to where it landed as she walked closer to Wyatt, who didn’t take his eyes off her, “Is that how it’s going to be from now on? You flatter me and I get distracted.”

“That wasn’t my intention, ma’am. We aren’t keeping score after all,” Wyatt smirked at her and Lucy tapped him on the shoulder with her own putter before going back for her ball.

“Good, because you know I’m not one for competition.”

“Oh come on, you can’t tell me you don’t like the thrill of it. Blood pumping through your veins, the adrenaline rush…” Wyatt stepped up close behind her as she bent to hit her ball again, “the power you feel when you win.”

“You know that’s all just testosterone, right?” Lucy stated, as she hit her ball again. She pretended unaffectedness by spouting her normal facts but she would be lying if his closeness didn’t also make _her_ heart race, “Like when you raced that car back in Darlington with the cops chasing us.”

“I remember that. I also remember when you wouldn’t let me have some of that moonshine that Wendell offered us for helping him.” 

“Are you trying to say I ruin your fun?” 

“No way you could ruin all the fun… maybe a little bit of the fun,” Wyatt teased, smiling back at her.

“Oh hush,” Lucy smacked him and he dodged away, laughing as he chased down his ball when it jumped the bricks and went rolling across the sidewalk and into a flower bed.

“I remember a particular instance when we were stranded in 1754 where you wouldn’t let me have any fun. ‘No history, not right now,’” Lucy mimed his deeper voice.

“ _Hey_ , I was already aggravated by circumstances beyond our control, I didn’t want to hear about George Washington’s surrender to whoever he was.”

“See, it you would have let me tell you, you would know one more thing about George Washington to thrill people with.”

“I don’t know how thrilling that would be to normal people, but okay.”

“Are you trying to say I’m not normal?” Lucy asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared him down.

Wyatt smiled softly at her, his expression at odds with her confrontational attitude. She had expected him to trip over his words trying to placate her, not seriously of course, but he didn’t seemed perturbed at all. 

“You’re definitely _not_ a normal person.” He finally spoke up, and Lucy opened her mouth to object again but she shut it when the teasing light, that she was expecting, still hadn’t reached his eyes. _Why was he acting so serious?_

“You’re the woman who stood up to me when I wanted to use Judith for Flynn bait in Las Vegas, the one who wouldn’t let me stay behind to complete a suicide mission at the Alamo… you refused to leave _anyone_ behind in Chinatown… no one else remembers that but _I_ do. You were even kind to Jessica despite the fact that your heart was being ripped in two by her presence in the bunker. You didn’t have to, but you did, because you’re an extraordinary woman, Lucy Preston.” 

Lucy stepped back when he walked onto the green to place his ball back down. She stared at him, confused. _Was he just going to leave it at that? Tell her all these amazing things and then just go back to playing mini golf._ Lucy couldn’t get her head around it. _Why was he acting so strange?_

Wyatt sunk his ball into the hole and she watched as he knelt down to retrieve the ball. _Weird_ , he had reached for it earlier just by bending over. 

_What is he doing?_ She thought to herself, as he turned around, still on his knee but the bright pink golf ball she had expected to see wasn’t in his hand. Instead he held a small, black velvet box and Lucy gasped as tears suddenly filled her eyes, blurring her vision. 

“I know this is sudden. We just left the bunker a few weeks ago, but I'm tired of waiting. You and I know that time is a fragile thing and it’s too precious to be wasted. I can’t wait to start my new life with you, so… will you marry me, Lucy Preston?” 

“Yes,” Lucy nodded her head, emphatically, as she wiped away her tears and tried to give him her hand so he could put the beautiful ring on her finger.

He stood quickly after that, his arms wrapping around her waist and their lips colliding like a comet crashing to the earth. Lucy couldn’t believe how suddenly everything had happened for them, but it also felt so right, after so many obstacles and so many misunderstandings. 

“Oh, and I stupidly didn’t tell you that I love you during that spiel.” Wyatt chuckled, his voice clogged with tears, “I’ve loved you since before I was willing to admit it to myself. I know I was stupid to try to let you go because I haven’t wanted to since I lost you in 1779 and found you again in 1893. Promise me, you’ll never leave me, not if you can help it.” 

His gaze was earnest and serious on hers, the glint of happy tears on his cheeks matching the cold stickiness she felt on her own. 

“I promise. I’m never going to let you go again. I love you, so much. I can’t even put it into words, how it feels to love you so wholeheartedly.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” Wyatt sniffed as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Wyatt always gave the best hugs and Lucy couldn’t believe that the man who had once called her his “sister” was now her fiancé. Life was funny that way. 

Lucy pulled back, once again wiping at her eyes and the mascara that streaked her face.

“I can’t believe I got all dolled up for this,” Lucy teased.

“I think you look amazing,” Wyatt looked at her like she had hung the moon and she turned her head into his neck, glad to finally feel like she had found her home, with him. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Wyatt asked, rubbing his hand up and down her back as they stood in the middle of the miniature golf course without a care in the world.

“I’m better than okay. I’m perfectly happy. I’m so happy, I don’t know what to do with myself.” Lucy added, as she snuggled up against him. 

The outdoor PA system crackled to life, the voice behind the microphone reminding them that the park would be closing in five minutes.

“Well, whatever we do, we won’t be doing it here.”

“That’s okay. I’ll be happy to be wherever you are.”

“Don’t say that too soon. You might jinx us. After all we’ve only been engaged for a few minutes.” Wyatt teased as he bent to get the golf ball and putter that he had dropped when he proposed. 

“I lived in cramp bunker quarters with you and six other people, I think I can manage having you all to myself now.” Lucy retorted, although they would probably have to tell Rufus soon and the rest of their bunker family but it was their little secret for now.

They walked back inside and returned their golf balls and putters, Wyatt barely removing his arm from around her as they traversed the emptying arcade. Children’s excited shouting from earlier, had now turned to disappointed cries. The parents relief was evident on their faces, despite their children’s protestations, as they carted them out to their cars.

Lucy wrapped her arm around Wyatt as they walked into the parking lot, loose gravel crunched under their boots as headlights brightened the dark asphalt under their feet.

Wyatt opened the car door for her, like the gentleman he was, sneaking a kiss while she buckled her seatbelt. The newness of their committed relationship made her giddy and she flipped on the overhead light to admire her new engagement ring.

“Where did you get this ring?” Lucy asked, the unique cut of the diamond catching her eye. She turned in her seat as much as her seatbelt would allow so that she could face him. 

“A jewelry store.” Wyatt deadpanned as he glanced at her.

“Be serious,” Lucy laughed as she turned her hand to watch it sparkle.

Wyatt cranked the car, turning on the heat almost immediately, before he turned to face her.

“I um— actually asked Agent Christopher about it, at first. I don’t really know anything in the area… I would go from Mason Industries to my apartment and back most days. I had my groceries delivered when I could and when I didn’t have groceries I would go for take out. And you know how it was in the bunker, we weren’t allowed out so… I didn’t know any jewelry stores. Denise she gave me the address of this one place and I was kinda worried about it, cause I thought, ‘what if they don’t have _the_ ring’, you know? It’s one store. But I went inside anyways because I _had_ to find you a ring.” Wyatt rubbed a hand along the back of his neck like he was nervous to tell her about it, but Lucy wouldn’t let him be. She grabbed ahold of his hand and linked their fingers together, encouraging him on without a word. 

“The saleswoman was nice. Apparently she’s actually a friend of Denise’s wife, Michelle and that’s how _she_ found out about them. They’re locally owned, have been since the Great Depression, not one of those chain stores where they try to milk you for all you’re worth. She asked me what type of things you liked, what you were in to, what your favorite flower was… stuff like that, and she actually picked the rings out for me. There were five of them but this one,” Wyatt rubbed a finger over the diamond and gold band on her finger, “it kinda just hit me that it was the one, as soon as I saw it.”

“How did you get to Agent Christopher without me knowing? We’ve been practically glued to each other’s sides since Christmas.” 

“Well, you know when Rufus came to get you and ask you about that book where you found the picture of Jiya from Chinatown… that was me. I told him to distract you so I could go ask her. Oh, and apparently my decision to marry you helped solidify her decision to place me on the special task force under her, so you have yourself to thank for that one.” 

“You already knew you were going to ask me at Christmas?”

“Yes. You were the one who said that we shouldn’t waste anymore time living in the past. Well, once we survived North Korea, I was looking to the future and the only future I could see was one shared with you.”

Lucy teared up again and she opened the glovebox to find a napkin to wipe her face with. She grimaced at the rough texture against her cheeks and nose but as soon as she was done she tossed it to the side and slid her arms around Wyatt’s shoulders. Ignoring the gear shift that pressed into her stomach uncomfortably, she kissed him. Pouring all her love and happiness into the pressure of her lips against his.

The scruff on his chin scraped against hers and she shivered, suddenly aware that she would be able to feel this same way every time she kissed him for the rest of their lives. She pulled back, eventually, the unrelenting need to breathe overcoming her desire to show him how she felt. She rubbed her thumbs over his cheeks, staring up into his beautiful blue eyes lit by the paltry overhead light of the car. 

“I love you,” She breathed it against his lips, as if her declaration would sustain him better than the air that he breathed. He whispered it back and Lucy felt as if she was the North Star itself, shining high above them to lead the way back home.


End file.
